Smoking Related Disease Shows Alarming Increase In The Country

Cigarette smoking kills over 124,000 Pakistanis every year, said health experts addressing a seminar organized at the 13th Health Asia conference at Expo center Karachi

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2017 ) : Cigarette smoking kills over 124,000 Pakistanis every year, said health experts addressing a seminar organized at the 13th Health Asia conference at Expo center Karachi.

This death toll was cited to be far greater than total deaths occurring as a result of suicidal bombings, traffic accidents and crime related killings in a given year. Prof. Javaid Khan, a senior pulmonologist of Aga Khan University and Chairperson, National Anti Tobacco Committee (NATC) urged the government to increase taxation on cigarettes so as to curb the growing tobacco epidemic in the country.

He regretted that reduction in the taxation on cigarettes in the last budget was detrimental to efforts made for the tobacco control in the country.

Referring to a recent research conducted by International Agency for Research on Cancer last year, he said that 50% increase in inflation adjusted price could reduce smoking prevalence by 20%.

Prof. Javaid Khan said that current taxation on cigarette in the country was lowest in the region and that low taxation rate encourages the public, especially youth to resort to smoking, a powerful and hazardous addiction in itself.

Significant raise in taxes on tobacco is proven to be a highly effective tobacco control strategy and could lead to significant improvements in public health, said the senior doctor and researcher, explicitly referring to available WHO and World Bank reports.